Storm Water Management

EDITOR’SFOCUS station arrivaL: Storm Water Management By Mike Mcgough & ocated in the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia, the SEPTA R8 Fox Chase Line Jerome s. silagyi L facility now has somewhat of a resurrection story in its 100-year history. Originally constructed by the Reading Co. in 1906, the Olney train station was decommissioned when the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) ceased allowing customers to Polymer-coated use the station in the 1980s. In June 2008, the station was demolished to make way for a new CSP primes facility with high-level platforms. However, building requirements have changed dramatically SEPTA station over the past century, most notably those pertaining to storm water management. for 100-year What once would have been an impossible task to flow control structures and any other appurtenances service accomplish for a small site that hosts some 60 park- needed to support the hydraulic functions or mainte- ing spaces has become possible with the advent of nance of the system. Fabrication is accomplished with underground storage systems. Over the past couple experienced welders using the very material specified of decades, the traditional detention pond has given for the storm water management system—in this case place to buried storm water management systems that a 7-ft-diameter polymer-coated CSP. preserve operational functionality of the much-needed To provide the most efficient use of the available space in the heart of urban development, or in this storage and minimize potential clogging, a 3-in. coni- case, urban redevelopment. cal, stainless steel vortex valve was used to meet the In this vein, corrugated steel pipe (CSP) has found discharge limit requirements. As part of the detention new life and become the leading option available system’s outlet, the valve was easily fastened to a 7-ft- for engineering designers availing themselves of the diameter bulkhead. strength, service life, constructability and size range Unlike an orifice, vortex control increases as the afforded by this engineering material. pressure builds, having little control initially and SEPTA’s multidisciplined engineering depart- maximum control once the design head is reached. ment was able to provide cradle-to-grave site devel- This feature allows the valve to be oversized without opment, beginning with conceptual design and end- exceeding the discharge limit when the system is full. ing with construction management. The reviewing agency responsible for storm water management was Station Resurrected the Philadelphia Water Department, who quickly The storm water management system was assem- assigned a restricted storm water discharge to miti- bled easily. The facility was located less than 20 miles gate an outlet that had become overtaxed through the from the project site. A just-in-time delivery procedure years. The restricted storm water discharge assign- helped manage a very space-limited site and allowed ment necessitated a detention requirement in excess of the contractor, D’Angelo Bros., to better manage 15,000 cu ft. ingress and egress from one end of the site to the other. Aside from providing customer parking, SEPTA’s Coated CSP for the Century construction management team was able to maintain With limited area to accommodate this amount of functionality of the Olney Station for its users; evi- storage, SEPTA engineers decided on a 7-ft-diameter dence of the station’s need presented itself with the CSP storm water management system with an overall numerous neighborhood residents walking to and dimensional footprint of 94 ft by 37 ft. Of particu- from the site throughout each day during the con- lar interest is the type of CSP specified by the SEPTA struction process. The resurrected facility is teeming design engineers: polymer-coated CSP. with new life and prepared for a century of use. WWD Polymer-coated CSP was selected for its design Mike Mcgough, P.e., is chief engineer for the National service life of 100 years. Of the three major coating Corrugated steel Pipe assn. Mcgough can be reached at types available in the CSP market today (galvanized, [email protected]. Jerome s. silagyi, P.e., is manager aluminized and polymerized), polymer-coated CSP of technical services for Lane enterprises, inc. silagyi can provides the greatest service life and is the premier be reached at [email protected]. coating available. The polymer coating consists of a 10-mil polymer For more information, write in 1102 on this issue’s reader film that is laminated over each side of a galvanized service Card. steel coil prior to the pipe manufacturing process. The Trenchcoat protective film is a tough, rugged poly- WEBresources Part of a complete rehabilition of the olefin laminate that provides galvanized CSP with a durable barrier that exceeds the corrosion and abra- Related search terms from www.waterinfolink.com: Olney train stop in Philadelphia was the polymer coating, CSP, storm water management system creation of an underground storm water sion resistance of all other coatings. discharge and management facility. Another feature of utilizing CSP for underground For more information related to this article, visit storage purposes is the ability of the pipe manufac- www.wwdmag.com/lm.cfm/wd071002 turer to fabricate fittings, manifolds, access risers, 12 JULY 2010 • Water & Wastes Digest .

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